10.30.2006

Slithering Toward a Non-Election

Yesterday I designed two banners. They are both red-white-blue and exactly the same except for the text. On the left is Old Glory rotated to the "distressed" position. On the right, white text on a blue background - either "DON'T BLAME ME I DIDN'T VOTE" or "DON'T BLAME ME I VOTED THIRD PARTY".

I'll put them on my sidebar next weekend. Y'all can rip'em, post'em, change'em, whatever. I don't need attribution or a link, but it's OK if you wanna do that.

Throw eggs and rotten tomatoes if you wish, but the first of the two banners applies to me. Neither of my two Republican senators are up and my congressman is a lockstep Clinton neoliberal who doesn't even get outta bed without calling the DLC first.

Their isn't a third party candidate within a hundred miles.

The only vote I'm gonna cast is right here, where it might not be a waste of time.

Joshua's got a great post at BrickBurner today, "Snake Oil and the Midterm Elections". Excerpts (make sure you read the whole thing):

So we are in the trenches of another election season, and if you peer closely you can see the explosions on the horizon. I’m yet to be convinced the Democrats have the capacity to take back Congress, and to tell you the truth I don’t really care if they do. Not only do they not have the ability to lead, they also do not possess the moral impetus to change the direction of this country if they are lucky enough to regain control. Indeed they are just as responsible for the ruin in Iraq and back home as the Bushites.

The Democrats have assisted the Republicans at virtually every turn over the past six years. From the bloody invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, to the passing of CAFTA, to the confirmations of Samuel Alito and John Roberts, to the support of the PATRIOT Act, to the dismantling of Habeas Corpus, to the championing of Bush’s ravaging forest plan, to backing Israel’s brutal assault on Lebanon -- the Democratic Party has long played the role of enabler. And now they want your vote . . .

The whole plan: "take back Congress and then pull the Democrats left down the road”. When has that ever worked? And why would the corporate Democrats give its progressive wing any credence? If the Democratic Party continues to receive progressive votes regardless of their rightwing positions, there is absolutely no reason for them to change . . .

In the upcoming November 13 issue, on shelves this week, The Nation editors warn, “If Democrats fail to recapture at least a working share of Congressional power, they and their party will rightly be cast into disrepute, too, and distressed citizens may reasonably begin looking for other options.”

What would be so wrong with that? Progressives should have been looking for other options long ago. However, The Nation, like Cohen and the PDA, does not support independent politics or the emergence of a legitimate progressive third party. And that’s why they have not lived up to their promise of truly opposing pro-war Democrats by endorsing any of their antiwar challengers . . .

As usual, Mr. Frank and I share the same small canoe, so all I can say is "hear, hear!"

Third party? Puh-leeze! The self-same Joshua the other day pointed out that Connecticut's 4th district Green Party challenger bailed out of his campaign and deferred to the Democrat. Shit. I left a comment on that post.

From Friday's NYT . . .In Key House Races, Democrats Run to the Right

By SHAILA DEWAN and ANNE E. KORNBLUTPublished: October 30, 2006

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Oct. 28 — In their push to win back control of the House, Democrats have turned to conservative and moderate candidates who fit the profiles of their districts more closely than the profile of the national party.

One such candidate, Heath Shuler, was courted by Republicans to run for office in 2001. Mr. Shuler, 34, is a retired National Football League quarterback who is running in the 11th Congressional District in North Carolina. He is an evangelical Christian and holds fast to many conservative social views, like opposition to abortion rights.

“My guess is that if Democrats are in the majority, it’s going to be because of these New Democrat, Blue Dog candidates out there winning in these competitive swing districts,” Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin, co-chairman of a caucus of centrist House Democrats, said in an interview.

But if candidates like Mr. Shuler do help the Democrats gain majority control of Congress, it could come at a political price, which may include tensions in the party between its new centrists and its more liberal political base.

While Democratic leaders have gone to great lengths to promote the views of these candidates, some, like Mr. Shuler, have views on issues like gun control and abortion that are far out of step with the prevailing views of the Democrats who control the party. On some issues, they may even be expected to side with Republicans and the Bush White House . . .

Wonder what my friends at Scrutiny Hooligans, who pretty much withdrew from national-issue blogging to concentrate on local politics up there in the beautiful Appalachians, have to say about that?

OK, look! I. Told. You. So. I'm glad my "put my fist through the wall" days are long over . . . I couldn't blog with casts on my hands.

If you want one of those banners before the election, leave a comment or email me.

UPDATE: Kewl! The guys at Stop Me Before I Vote Again beat me to it and posted my banners already. I'm honored. Have at it!! Remember to respect bandwidth limitations - copy and paste; don't link directly. I'm gonna wait until the weekend to post them here.